The Shiv Kapur Interview

Feb 12, 2015. Shiv Kapur celebrated his 33rd birthday in style with a flawless six-under 66 that put him in a good position at the end of the first round at the Thailand Classic.

Asian Tour: What do you think of a 66 on your birthday?

Shiv Kapur: It’s a nice present. You wake up in the morning hoping for a good day because you don’t want to be grumpy for the rest of the day. I couldn’t have asked for a better result. Blemish-free. Six birdies, played really solid. I think the early start, being sick this week. Maybe the mind just switched off and I just got down to playing golf and didn’t think too much. Maybe that’s what I needed.

What happened? How’re you feeling now?

I guess it’s the couple of hot weather weeks and you are drinking lots of ice. They keep saying beware of the injured/sick golfer and it seems to work. Hopefully I can stay sick and keep playing the way I’m!

Has this sickness affected you in terms of your preparations?

I didn’t hit as many balls as I wanted to. But maybe it’s a blessing in disguise as I went out there more fresh than usual.

Fifth week in a row but pretty quiet by your standards?

I think it’s the early season rust. I felt like I play really well last week but go nothing in return in terms of results. It all comes down to holing a few putts. I got up this morning and I managed to do that. And that set the tone for the rest of the day. I’m looking forward to the rest of the week and also the year.

How familiar are you with Black Mountain?

I played here once before about five or six years ago. I’ve good memories of this place. It’s a good track. The greens are obviously very tricky. It does favour the long hitters. I put a new driver in the bag this week and it seems to be working. It has put a little bit of length as I’m getting onto all the par-five as I don’t remember getting on in two in the past years. That made the difference.

How are you planning to celebrate your birthday tonight?

Now that I’ve put myself sort of in the frame for this golf tournament, I’m probably going to take it easy a little bit. I’m just going for dinner, have a couple of drinks and take it easy.